A Strangers Revenge
by jayrae1996
Summary: 4 years ago a hot call turned for the worst. Now, Josh wants revenge, and he targets the newest member of Team One. Will the team save Sam? Or will they even notice he's in danger? Sam-centric, because there's not enough Sam whump here yet! No Jam, slash, or generally any romantic relationships.
Hey guys! I know it's been an eternity since I've posted or even been remotely active, so here's a nice one-shot for y'all (:

This is set in season one when Sam first joins the team, and they're not being very welcoming... yet (;

Disclaimer: as always, I don't own Flashpoint. Because if I did there would be way more than 5 seasons hah. Stephanie Morganstein and Mark Ellis, you guys are the real MVP's who've brought us this great show, so y'all rock.

Ok here you guys go, I'll stop talking now!

-••••

Bank of Toronto, 1:38 PM September 2003

To say Greg Parker was frustrated, and a bit confused, would be an understatement. Nothing about this hot call made sense whatsoever. He just didn't understand what was happening anymore.

It started off as normal as a bank robbery call could go. Guy with mask comes in, gathers his hostages in one area, demands his money, receives said money, SRU comes and saves the day.

Yeah. No. Not today.

"Boss, I've got the solution. But reading his body language, he doesn't look like he's gonna hurt anyone," Ed had the Sierra shot lined up, ready to fire when given the go ahead. "He's got the gun pointed toward the ground."

"Ok, hold Sierra One. No need to take him down if we can talk him down." Greg was frustrated. What was the point in this robbery? Was the subject financially unstable? Was he behind in any bills? Any outstanding mortgage payments...? "Spike, you have a name for me yet? You know who we're dealing with?"

"Because I just so happen to be very good at my job, yes. Yes I do have a name for our mysterious subject," Spike happily stated. "Say hello to one Brandon McMaster, 34. Says here that he has no criminal record, he's not in any trouble financially, and he's completely up to date in all bills. He has two younger brothers. Nick, 32, engaged, no children, works for a phone company. Then we have Joshua, 28. Single, currently unemployed, recently let go from his minimum wage job."

"Good work Spike. Jules, Lew," said Greg. "I need you guys to go talk to the brothers. See if we can get a reason for what's going on here. Anything else on Brandon, Spike?"

"Nothing about their father, just the mother. Laurie McMaster 58, lives in the West side, just outside Toronto. She's 3 years into retirement, and actually that's about it."

Hopefully we get something from the family, Greg wished. He needed to understand to resolve this situation peacefully.

Inside the bank 1:59PM

Brandon paced around, quietly fretting. It wasn't supposed to go like this. Not even close. It was supposed to be a simple in and out; nothing more, nothing less.

But it definitely turned into more very fast. All he wanted to do was get the damn money so his mom could get the treatments she desperately needed. Terminal Cancer, the worst of the worst. No way of 100% removing it from her body, but with the money, they would make it so she would be comfortable and in no pain.

But someone just had to activate the silent alarm. Perfect, just what he needed was for SRU to show up.

Brandon's plan was to get the money, then leave without anyone getting hurt. That was not what he wanted. He was so close then bam! Buildings surrounded, and he's shit outta luck for this happening like it was supposed to.

He and Sgt Greg Parker had talked for a little over the phone, trying to end this without anyone getting hurt. But Brandon knew if he came out, there was no way he was getting that money to his mother. He couldn't let that happen. He won't let anything stand in his way of extending her life as much as it was possible.

He demanded a car with enough gas to get to the hospital, to be able to leave without a tail of any sort, and just to be able to give them the money before they arrested him. Brandon was no fool; he knew he wasn't getting out of this one with no repercussions. He would gladly face jail time if it meant his deathly sick mother would get the best treatment she could.

So that brings us to now. Brandon was getting nervous because his hostages were starting to get feisty. He could hear them trying to plan to escape, but he couldn't let that happen until he was on his way to the hospital.

Outside bank 2:05PM

"Sarge, just left Nick McMaster's house. Nick's fiancé informed me that their mother, Laurie, has terminal cancer. She's been hospitalized the last 4 months, but they're sending her home in the next few days until they can pay for the next round of medicine to keep her pain free. She said it would cost a lot of money, more than they could ever get," Jules relayed the information she received.

"We've got our motive then," Greg sighed. Terminal cancer. Jeez, what a diagnosis to have.

"Boss! Hostages are starting to escalate from calm to irritable!" Ed called out. "Some are moving towards the doors!"

"Spike, I need you out here to the back entrance and ready for entry! Wordy, you're going in the front, be ready for my go!" Greg ordered. "Jules, Lew, how far out are you? We need you here asap."

"Minutes boss," was heard from the pair.

Greg called in the bank, hoping Brandon would answer. He needed to try to calm the hostages down. He picked up on the third ring.

"Brandon, buddy, can you tell me what's going on in there?"

"I-I don't know! They were all fine a minute ago! And now, they just.. Started yelling at me to let them go and they're trying to leave," Brandon frantically said. "I don't want to threaten them or hurt them, but I will if I have to!"

"Brandon, I know you don't want to hurt them. That's the last thing that needs to happen here," Greg said, trying to calm down the panicking man. "Just calmly talk to them, make sure they know you're the one in charge here. They can't leave until it's safe for them to."

He could hear Brandon trying to take control of the situation over the phone.

"No! You're not leaving until I say so! Sit back down, all of you! No! Get away from the windows!"

Team One was preparing for entry, when they heard Ed yell.

"Boss! He's raising the gun at the hostages!"

What happened next would be something he would never forget.

"Scorpio."

SRU Headquarters 4:45 AM September 2007

Sam strolled into the barn, ready for early morning workout. He was the first one to arrive seeing as it wasn't even 5AM yet. Another sleepless night, he thought. Wonder if anyone will actually notice I'm here before shift this time.

It's not that the team didn't notice someone coming in early, it's just that they didn't notice him arriving early. Ever. They always just assume that he's late because he's used to working out by himself, away from the others. Old habits die hard, right?

Kiera saw him on his way to the locker room.

"Morning Sam!" she said with a smile.

Sam looked up, and gave a small wave. "Morning."

"Early again today I see," she frowned. The bags under his eyes seemed to be darker then the day before. "Long night?"

"You could say that," Sam quietly sighed. Damn, these nightmares have got to stop. He didn't wait to hear her reply before going to get changed into his workout clothes.

He went to his preferred workout area, and seen that it was unoccupied. Just the way he liked it. The punching bag was his favorite thing to start with in the morning, and being earlier then everyone else, he could punch away in peace. Clear his head until the memories and nightmares were out of thought.

He didn't realize that he was so deeply in his head, that it was already 5:20, and his team leader was fuming because Sam was no where in sight.

He also didn't see that he was occasionally checked in on by Troy from Team Three.

SRU Gym 5:25AM

"Whenever Braddock decides to show up for work, he's going to regret coming in half an hour late," Ed was furious.

"Eddie. Calm down," Greg gave him a tired smile. "Technically, he doesn't have to be here until 7AM. Shift doesn't start until then."

"There's a reason we come in at 5 for workout. We all come in, we don't get to choose when we do and when we don't. He should know that by now."

"I'm sure he does Ed. But maybe he's just running late?" Wordy suggested. If anyone should know that, it would be Wordy. Having 3 little girls that get up at the crack of dawn will make you late sometimes.

"Could be. But why, he has no kids or anything to make him this late," Jules understood being late, but at least call in to let everyone know. Sometimes she just couldn't stand their rookie.

Spike, Wordy and Lew respectively did not give their opinion on the subject of Sam being late.

"Give him some time, I'm sure he'll show up before too long," Greg suggested, ending the conversation. "At least let Sam explain himself before you call him out for anything."

As if he knew they were talking about him, the blond haired rookie joined the rest of the team.

"Morning," Sam greeted.

Ed narrowed his eyes at him, waiting for him to excuse himself for being late. "Well?"

Sam looked to Ed, knowing he wanted a reason for being late. Doesn't much matter, I'll just get in trouble either way.

"Sorry I'm late, overslept."

"Overslept? That's your excuse for being late?" Ed was beyond furious now. "Maybe you should stop partying and start going to bed early, Braddock."

"Yes sir. Won't happen again sir."

"See that it doesn't."

Great, I'm getting back in the habit of saying 'sir' again. Feels like I'm back in Special Forces.

After Sam took being yelled at, he resumed his workout with the team until start of shift.

Briefing room 7:10AM

"Ok guys and girl," Sarge smiled at Jules. "We have no warrants to pursue, or any hot calls as of yet. So. You all know what that means."

"Patrolling," the entire team said as one.

"Correct. Ed, you and I will be Alpha team. Bravo is Jules, Spike and Lew. So that leaves Wordy and Sam being Charlie," smiled Greg. "Alright team, let's go keep the peace."

Patrolling 7:45AM Alpha Team

Ed and Greg were driving the quiet streets of Toronto, talking about their upcoming 4 days off.

"I'm gonna take Clark and Soph to my dads cabin I think. Spend some quality time with the family," Ed had been wanting to have a few days for just his wife and son. "What are you doing?"

Greg thought for a minute. "You know, I'm not really sure yet. Think I might just, do some errands, clean up the house, and relax."

"Sounds like a mighty fine plan if you ask me."

"Yeah, I thought so," laughed Greg. He then motioned to Ed to turn his head set off.

"What's up?"

"Sam."

"Ok. Sam. What about him?"

"Eddie, I think you're being a little too hard on him. Let me finish," he knew Ed was about to interrupt him. "Yes, he was late this morning, and yes, he gave a common excuse for being late. But I think you should take it easy on him, just because he was put on the team doesn't mean Sam's not good at his job."

"It's not about being good at your job. I'm being hard on him because he doesn't follow the rules. He doesn't follow my orders. He second guesses me. He does the opposite of what he's told," Ed raged. "Greg, do you not remember one of his first hot calls? When he sent the heart up and changed the situation entirely?"

"That was a rookie mistake. We've all made them, and he knows better than that now Ed. Sam just needs more training than we've been giving him. We haven't really had much time to properly train him, which we need to do," replied Greg. "We just have to give him a chance. Let him show us what he can really do."

Bravo

In the truck that held Jules, Spike and Lew, they were all making bets on why Sam was actually late.

"I bet he hooked up with some girl. He definitely seems like a major player," Jules snarled.

"I bet he partied too hard, like Ed said," Spike said.

Lew didn't like that they were trash talking their fellow team mate. Sure, they didn't really know Sam too well, but whose fault is that?

"I believe Sam," Lew spoke quietly. He actually saw the dark bags under his eyes, and he's sure Wordy seen them also. "He could definitely use the extra rest. Doesn't seem like he's got too much of it since he started with us."

Jules and Spike looked at each other. Was Lew actually defending the rookie? Seriously?

"Why are you defending him? It's his own fault," Jules really couldn't stand Braddock.

"Because he's not here to defend himself," Lew easily and firmly stated. "I don't know if you guys see it, but he learns something new after every mistake he makes. He deserves a chance that we have not yet given him."

Charlie

Sam was sitting in the passenger seat just thinking. Thinking about his past, being in the army and JTF2, his buddy Matt and the guys, and now being in the SRU. He thought about Ed belittling him every chance he possibly got. What did he ever do to Ed to make him hate him so much? Was it even worth it to be on a team that clearly doesn't want him on it in the first place?

He was so lost in thought he didn't hear Wordy trying to get his attention.

"-am... Sam! SAM!"

"Huh?" Sam jumped in his seat. "Sorry, was a little zoned out. What's up?"

"I guess you were. I was calling your name for a good two minutes," laughed Wordy. He could see that the kid was dead on his feet. Exhausted, if the raccoon like eyes were anything to go by.

"I was trying to ask you about this morning. Why you were late?"

"I already told you guys. I overslept."

"Okay," Wordy slowly said. "You mind telling me the real reason? I'm not going to yell at you or anything, and I can clearly tell that you 'overslept' is not the reason you were late."

Sam sighed. "Fine. I didn't oversleep."

Wordy waited for him to continue. "So why were you late?"

"I wasn't." At Wordy's confused look, he continued. "Late? I wasn't. I got there at 4:45, and was already working out before anyone else showed up."

Wordy was still confused. "So why didn't you just tell that to Ed when he asked? He wouldn't have yelled at you then..."

"No point. It's not like he would believe anyway," Sam mumbled. He spoke louder when he said, "Doesn't really matter now, it's over and done with."

Wordy could tell that Sam didn't want to talk about it further, so he let it go for now. He would try talking to him about it again later after shift.

8:30am

"Team One, hot call! We've got a male suicide jumper at the top of the Bank of Toronto. No further information for you guys, sorry."

"Thanks Kiera," Greg was puzzled. "Why, of all the high rises and big buildings in the GTA, would someone choose the Bank of Toronto to attempt suicide?"

"It's honestly not all that tall. Maybe for sentimental reasons? Of...some sort?" Jules suggested.

The whole team was confused. Why would you jump off a low level bank, in the middle of the city?

"Sarge, I've just been informed that the jumper is willing to talk, but on one condition."

"What's his condition Kiera?"

"He said he'll only speak to Sgt Greg Parker of the SRU."

"Ok, so he either knows that Team One of the SRU is being dispatched out, or its personal."

Great.

8:45am Bank of Toronto

Greg and Jules were heading up to the roof to talk to the jumper. Ed and Lew were harnessed up and scaling the building, in case he decided he was in fact going to jump. Spike, obviously, was in the truck.

So that left Wordy and Sam for crowd control. Of all things for a hand-to-hand expert and an ex-JTF2 member to do, it would be controlling a crowd.

"It's definitely personal boss, because the jumper? His name is Nick McMaster." Spike exclaimed.

"Why's that name familiar Spike?" Sarge asked at the same time Sam asked, "Who's Nick McMaster?"

"Nick McMaster is the older brother of Brandon McMaster. He held up this bank about 4 years ago, so it was before you were on the team Sam," Lew provided. He remembered the call fairly well.

"So what happened on the call?"

"Brandon needed the money for their very sick mother. She had terminal cancer. So he held up the bank, but didn't intend to harm anyone. Just a simple in and out," Wordy started.

"But then the hostages started escalating, trying to overpower him. Saying they could leave if they wanted to, and one actually made it close to the windows when Brandon panicked. He started yelling at her to get away from the windows, and raised his gun towards her," Jules continued. "Ed had to take the Scorpio shot. But we'll never know if he knew he actually meant to raise his weapon."

"It was a tough call because he was only trying to help his mom, but it had to be done," Greg sighed. "Priority of Life."

"Copy that," Sam said. Wow, what a tragic call. But now's not the time to dwindle on the past. He has a crowd to control. God, if the General could see him now...

Sam was walking around keeping people back at a safe distance. He didn't understand why so many people came out to watch someone try to end their life. But he doesn't really understand people in general, so there's no point in thinking about it.

Just as he was turning to go the opposite way, he heard the jumper, Nick, tell Greg that he has to get his team out of here. That it's not safe for them to be here.

Sam heard a noise between the buildings. Thinking it could be a reporter or teenage kids trying to get a better look, he went down the alley. Completely ignoring the conversation going on in his headset.

He was about halfway down the alley when he could feel someone behind him. He didn't get the chance to fully turn around before his head exploded in pain, and darkness was the only thing he knew.

Moments earlier, roof of bank

"You don't understand, it's not safe for your team to be here!" Nick raised his voice over Greg's. Why weren't they leaving like he's telling them to?

"Nick, the only way we're leaving is if you come down with us," Greg pleaded. He didn't want to see Nick kill himself at the same place his brother died. But he was curious as to what he meant by it wasn't safe for the team to be there. It's perfectly safe, SRU was there.

"I can't come down! He might hear me telling you to leave!" Nick said more then he intended to.

"Who might hear? Why is it not safe for us to be here Nick?" Greg asked.

"Because it's a setup! He made me stand up here pretending to jump so your team would be here! He set this whole thing up! He wants revenge on you!" Nick yelled.

"Nick, who? Who wants revenge on us?"

"Josh. My younger brother. He set it up for today specifically because 4 years ago today, we not only lost our brother, but we lost our mother too."

Ed couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Team status now!"

He heard a call of some sort from Greg, Jules, Spike, Lew and Wordy. Good. "The whole team is accounted for."

Wordy thought for a minute. Why does it feel like they're forgetting something. Or someone. Oh god.

"Wait! Sam didn't answer!" Wordy was horrified. Had they really forgotten Sam? Even just for a minute, but you only need a minute to kill a person.

"Braddock? You copy?" Silence greets Ed's call. "Braddock! Sam?!"

Nothing but silence.

"Spike! Trace Sam's transponder!" Greg worriedly commanded.

"Braddock, you better not be napping somewhere or else I'm going to kill you," said Ed. Still nothing.

"I got a location on Sam's transponder! It's between the two buildings right beside the bank on the west side!"

"Wordy! With me!" Ed yelled. They ran towards the alley.

When they entered the alley, they slowly cleared it, looking everywhere for Sam. At the end, something caught Wordy's eye.

"Ed," Wordy called. He had a vest in hand, BRADDOCK stitched into the handle by the neck. "Sam's vest and headset."

"I got blood drops over here," Ed said, dejectedly. "Sam's gone."

Unknown location, 9:30am

Pain. A lot of it. It felt like someone took a sledgehammer to his head. Repeatedly.

Sam was slowly coming back into consciousness. He didn't dare open his eyes yet, he didn't want to add to the pounding in his head. He did a self assessment of his body. From what he could tell, he definitely had a concussion. He could feel the dried and still running blood on his face. He was going to have a fantastic bruise, but other then that, he felt pretty okay.

He could feel that his hands were bound behind his back, with what felt like...his own handcuffs? Now that's just rude.

Sam realized he was sitting in a chair, when a man opened the door and walked in the room.

The mans footsteps were getting louder, so he was coming closer to Sam. Next thing he knew, he felt a blow to his stomach. And another. And another, while the man yelled at him to wake up.

Sam groaned, and slowly opened his eyes. It wasn't too bright, so the lights didn't bother his eyes too much. The room was spinning, but he could handle that for a while. He took a decent look around the room, it looked like he was in a basement. The windows were small and close to the ceiling. He could only see the sky out of them.

He felt a sharp pain in his face, and was forced to look at the man.

"Look at me when I talk to you!"

Sam looked at him. His eyesight was a bit blurry now, but the guy had raven black hair, and vividly blue eyes. He look sort of familiar...the eyes. He's seen those eyes somewhere before, not too long ago too.

"Who are you?" Sam asked. "What do you want?"

"My names Josh McMaster," the man said. McMaster... Aw crap. "Your team killed my brother 4 years ago today, so I'm going to kill one of you. An eye for an eye. Brother for a brother, if you will."

Brother? Hah, right. If only, Sam thought.

"I wasn't even part of the SRU when that happened. So why me?"

"Well I guess you're just unlucky then. And I chose you because you were the easiest one to fall for the old, odd noise in the dark alley trick. So basically," Josh taunted, "you chose yourself."

Well didn't that hurt Sam's pride a little.

"So if you're going to kill me, why haven't you yet? You've had a few chances already." Sam didn't know why he was goading him. Maybe this is what negotiating is.

"I've had many chances, but why do it now when I can do it when your team comes to rescue you?" Josh smirked at him. "I'm going to kill you right in front of your team, and there's nothing you, or they, can do to stop me."

Bank of Toronto, 9:30am

Ed didn't think he could blame himself more then was right at this moment. Why take Sam? He wasn't even on the team when the robbery call happened. Hell, he wasn't even in Canada! If anyone was to be taken, it should've been himself. He was the one who actually killed Brandon.

"Nick, is there anywhere you can think of that Josh might've taken Sam to? Anywhere?" Greg asked. They were going to get Sam back, they were Team One. The best of the best.

"We haven't really kept in contact much since Brandon and mom passed. It really broke him when he got the call that Brandon attempted to rob the bank and had to be killed. And then the next day we both get a call informing us our mother passed away the day before, same day as Brandon, because the cancer finally took her," Nick explained. "I don't think it would've been so bad if they hadn't both died on the same day."

"I'm sorry about your mother, Nick. We had no idea," Greg gave his condolences. "But we still need any ideas on where Joshua might have Sam at."

"Last I heard he still had his house just outside of Toronto. Nobody's lived there for a few years, and it's never been finished being renovated," Nick thought. "Big unfinished basement. The whole house is huge actually."

"That's our best bet then," Greg thanked nick for his help. "Spike, you have an address for us yet?"

"Already sent it to your PDA's."

"C'mon boss, it's Spike. He probably had the address before we even knew to ask for it," Jules laughed.

"Very true Jules," Greg smiled. "Alright team, let's go save one of our own."

Outside Toronto, 10am

If Sam thought he was in pain before, then he felt like he was dying now.

Since Josh announced his plan to kill him in front of his team mates, he proceeded to beat Sam into unconsciousness three times now.

He could hardly see out of his right eye, everything was just a big blur. His lip was split, going by how much blood he felt running down his chin and he could taste. His shoulders were starting to hurt from being restrained for so long. He was sure there was marks, if not cuts, from the handcuffs. He knew he had a few broken ribs on both sides. His breathing was starting to hitch, not good. He had bruises on his lower legs from trying to kick out at Josh, only for him to duct tape them to the chair. He was completely restrained now. He was constantly dizzy and nauseous now too. He didn't know if that was from the concussion, or the start of blood loss.

"C'mon now pretty boy," Josh smiled as he punched Sam in the ribs again. "Let me hear you scream. It's like music to my ears."

Sam refused to scream. He let out a few grunts and groans, but that's it. He's not letting this guy get what he wants.

Another punch to the ribs. Another. There's a cracked rib. A punch to the face, and another. It sounds like he's underwater.

He barely even feels the punches or hears the taunts now. Which is probably why he didn't hear the sirens until the were right outside.

"They were faster then I thought. Looks like we have to speed this up a little."

Nick stepped back a few feet and pulled out a gun. He smiled at Sam, aimed, and fired.

Outside Josh's house 10:45am

The team stopped the trucks, and that's when the gunshot rang out. All of Team One flinched. Suddenly very glad they brought the paramedics with them.

"Ok listen up! This is all hands on deck. Jules, you're Sierra one. Spike, Lew, you guys cover the boss. Wordy, you're with me. We're entering through the back. Let's go get Sam back," Ed said with fierce determination.

Jules found the perfect Sierra perch, seeing most of the basement, but more importantly, Sam.

"Sierra One in position," she said. "Josh has a gun to Sam's head, and he's bound to a chair. Guys, Sam's not looking too good."

Greg needed a minute to regain himself. "How bad Jules?"

"There's a lot of blood on his face and chest. He's very pale, looks like he's having a hard time focusing his eyes. Doesn't look like he's breathing too well, and Josh has him gagged."

"Goddamnit!" Ed roared. "Greg, you guys in position?"

"Affirmative, Bravo team in position."

"Alright. Entry in 3, 2, 1! Go, go, go!"

Both Alpha and Bravo teams entered at the same time. But none of them were prepared to see Sam barely hanging onto consciousness, bound to a chair, covered in blood, with a gun being held against his head.

"Joshua McMaster? My name's Sgt Gregory Parker with the Police Strategic Response Unit. Can I ask you lower that gun away from Sam's head, please?" Greg began negotiating.

"Greg Parker, huh? You were the one who decided if my brother should live or die. And chose for him to die," Josh growled. "So sorry, but no. I can't lower this gun from pretty boys head, because it's my choice this time whether someone lives, or dies."

"Josh, this is not what Brandon or Laurie would've wanted. You know that." Greg reasoned. He just had to get the gun down, and they could take him down. "Please, just lower the gun. You don't have to put it down."

"You don't get to tell me what my mom or brother would've wanted! Because of you and your team, they're both dead! Brandon was only trying to save her, but you killed him in cold blood!"

"Josh, you have to understand something. I only made that call because he threatened an innocent hostage. A little like you're doing now, actually." Maybe he could try and guilt him out of this. "Sam had nothing whatsoever to do with Brandon dying. So why are you taking it out on him? He did nothing wrong?"

Sam raised his head a bit at hearing his name. Boss? His ears were ringing, vision just a blur of blobs and colors, and he wasn't too sure if he was actually conscious or not.

Greg saw Sam lift his head, and he didn't like what he saw. The pale, pale face, with complete confusion on it.

"Josh, take a look at Sam. He's really not doing too good, and I'd like it if we could get him out of here. He doesn't need to be down here." He was just begging now. Sam need medical attention now.

Josh looked at Sam, and you could see the bit of guilt there. "I know they wouldn't have wanted this, and I'm sorry it had to come to this. But...you're right. He has nothing to do with this."

Josh lowered the gun to the floor.

"Thank you Josh. Lew, take him outta here?" Greg asked Lew.

After Josh was led out by Lew, Wordy ran over to Sam.

"Sam!" He gently peeled the tape off his mouth. Sam coughed, and a thin stream of blood came out. Wordy could hear how strained and raspy his breathing was. How pale and cold his skin was. How weak his pulse was and how it kept getting weaker. How dilated his eyes were. He could feel Sam shivering from the blood loss. Wordy could hear Sarge call for the paramedics to come down now. "Sam, we're here, you're going to be okay."

Ed and Spike quickly got the handcuffs and tape restraining him to the chair off, and gently lay him on the ground. Sam let out a whimper, the movement pulling on where he was shot.

"It's ok buddy, it's ok now. You're ok Samo," Ed was reassuring Sam, even as he kept coughing up blood.

"We've got you, it's over now Samtastic," Spike grabbed Sam's hand. Tears sprang to his eyes when Sam lightly squeezed his hand back.

"H-he... Shot me. In the abdo..abdomen..." Sam could barely get through a sentence without coughing or gasping. His eyes were rolling all over the place, unable to focus on anything. He was so dizzy, and felt he would pass out any second.

"Hey, Sam, no. You can't pass out yet. You have to stay awake. I know how hard it is when you have a concussion, but you have to try." That had to be Wordy.

He felt someone put a lot of pressure on his gun shot wound, and let out a painful whimper again.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Sam! But we have to try and stop the blood flow!" Spike, always so nice no matter what.

"Samo, there's no sleeping on the job, you hear? If you fall asleep, we're gonna have a problem. That's an order Braddock." Definitely Ed. And if he ordered it, well you can't just ignore an order.

"C-copy...tha..t." Sam barely managed those two words.

He could hear more calm, professional voices around him, and less familiar hands touching him. Must be the EMT's.

That was his last thought because darkness took over.

St. Michaels Hospital 4:50pm

Everyone was worried about Sam. Ever since he passed out back at the McMaster house, Team One was frantic about their team mate. The EMT's rushed him to the hospital where they took him immediately to surgery.

They knew it was bad, but they know just how bad until the doctor finally emerged from the restricted area over 6 hours later.

"I assume you're all here for Constable Braddock?"

"We are. And it's Sam, please."

"Alright, Sam it is. Since arriving here 6 hours prior, Sam is doing immensely for how much damage was done to him. Starting from the top, he has a moderate concussion from a pretty nasty blow to his head. My guess would be a crowbar, or something similar. It did require stitches to close the cut. Next we have a spectacular black eye, and a split lip. Those will heal in next to no time. Moving down, there's no damage to his shoulders, but I'm sure they'll be sore for a few days after being restrained, and beaten so severely in such a short amount of time. Then we have broken and cracked ribs. 3 broken on the left side, and 2 both broken and cracked on the right. The ones on the right side were already pressing against his lung, making breathing difficult. Any questions yet?"

Receiving nothing but head shakes, he continued.

"After the ribs, we have the most critical and severe wound. Sam was shot in the abdomen, and it looks to be pretty close range too. The bullet entered through the right side of his abdomen, and bounced around in there until it went through his right lung, furthering the damage from the broken ribs. That's why he was was coughing up the blood. Though the gunshot didn't collapse his lung, which he's very lucky. After the gunshot, he just has an excessive amount of bruises, which will all heal with time." The doctor took a small breather.

"He made it through surgery after coding on the table 3 times. Which is remarkable considering he medically never should've made it out of that basement. But he held on. He's breathing on his own, with a little extra help with the oxygen mask. He lost a severe amount of blood, causing the paleness, cold skin, weakening pulse, just about everything. He's now in ICU being closely monitored. He's receiving blood transfusions, and everything he needs to recover."

The team was shocked into silence. Sam died 3 times. The crap that kid gets into, and somehow survived it all so far.

"Honestly, I don't expect to fully believe me, but it really looked a lot worse than it truly was." The doctor gave a small smile to them. He could see their spirits lift a tiny bit at that.

"Doc, is he going to recover from this?" Ed nervously asked. He almost didn't want to hear the answer.

"To tell you the truth..." He paused to give them a big smile. "I think with time, and rest, he'll easily make a full recovery."

Spike immediately shot up and gave the doctor a huge hug, thanking him for saving Samtastic.

They all laughed at Spike's childish antics, and a huge weight was lifted off their chests. Knowing Sam would be okay.

"Can we see him?" Wordy asked.

"He's been heavily sedated just to allow him some rest and give his body some additional help in healing. I can take you all up to his room, but the best I can do right now is for you all to look through the window. Only until he's well enough to have visitors, and be in the normal rooms."

The doctor brought Team One up to the 5th floor, which was ICU. Ironically, his room number was 1122, his badge number. They all looked through the window together and were relieved to see that he looked a lot better than the last time they seen him. Samtastic was going to be okay.

Two weeks later, St. Michaels 10:25am

"Morning Samo!" Ed cheerily greeted when he walked into Sam's hospital room.

"Morning Ed," Sam smiled. He was happy that the whole team accepted him now. Sarge, Wordy and Lew did from the start. And Spike, for the most part. But it was hard to really tell with him because he liked everybody.

Ed and Jules finally fully accepted him, no matter how he was brought onto the team. He liked having them as close friends. Jules was like the little sister he always wanted, but got Natalie instead. And Ed, he was definitely the older brother he also always wanted, but never had.

"You know what today is, kiddo?" Ed grinned at him.

"No...?" Sam said slowly. "And why do you always call me kiddo now? Even the others are starting to call me that. I might be younger then you, but that doesn't mean I'm the youngest on the team."

"Today, you've officially been on the team for 3 months! You're now off probation! You're still the rookie though," Ed laughed. "To answer your second question, I seen your birthdate on your hospital bracelet. And you are now also officially the youngest on the team, seeing as you just turned 28 this year. Spike was the youngest at 32, but you're not only the youngest on team, but youngest in SRU right now. So of course I'm gonna call you kiddo Samtastic."

"Wonderful," Sam groaned, with a small smile on his face. He can just see it now, the whole team being overprotective mother hens around him for the rest of his life. The entire SRU even, when they no doubt would hear about it.

But secretly he was looking forward to being cared about.

It was nice to be accepted.

"Oh and about you being late that day. Wordy and Troy told me the truth about why you joined us so late. Next time, just tell me the real reason , Sam. I won't be mad kiddo."

Goddamn Wordy and his overprotective, fatherly, mother henning.


End file.
